Monthly Giving: It All Starts With One Tiny Snowflake

It all starts with one tiny snowflake, but it takes multiple snowflakes to make a storm.

This week’s blog was inspired by the recent blizzard/Nor’easter Kenan. If you’re in the northeast, I hope you stayed warm and safe through it all.

As I was watching the images of the snowflakes falling, it didn’t seem to amount to much at first. But then the snow started sticking and sticking some more. Then the snow started piling up and piling up some more. Next it became a few inches, up to a few feet in some areas.

Here’s the thing: One snowflake on its own is tiny. It takes more of these tiny flakes to make a major storm.

That’s similar to what happens with monthly gifts. At first, there are a few. Then a few more. Then a few more. Then when you add them all up and calculate their total value, they have become a major force to reckon with.

Let me give you one tiny example. As many organizations are in the middle of finalizing their tax letters to certain donors and monthly donors, one client shared how they just finished their tax overview listings. Their 425 sustainers showed a total giving in 2021 of $75,000! Not bad.

What will it take you to create a major monthly donor storm? They’re not going to just blow in when the weather gets cold. You need to do some things, even if they may feel or look tiny. A button. A tick box. A message in your e-news. Little things that don’t take much heavy lifting. But do them often and consistently, winter, spring, summer and fall.

Slowly but surely, they will start showing up. One monthly donor at a time, then another and another. Unlike snowflakes though, the good news is that there’s not a single snow blower that can blow these monthly donors away.